Trip to Boise part 3- Spencer is 2 months old!

     On Thursday, January 16, Spencer turned 2 months old! We had his 2 month checkup (an shots) just before we left on our trip.
His stats were:
Height: 22.25 in
25%
Weight: 11 lbs 12 oz
46%
Head circumference: 15.5 in
66%

     The doctor kept commenting on what great head and neck control he had for his age which is surprising because he hates tummy time and we don't do it every day :/ She also told me he looks like a Spencer...whatever that means, guess we did pick the right name after all!
     He got 3 shots which I was very worried about since my sister warned me she always cries when her kids get shots. I did get teary eyed but that was it. And Spencey cried but not his blood curdling scream I was expected. I just held him and cuddled him for a minute and he was fine! Didn't even need to nurse to calm down. The receptionists were really loving on him at this appointment too and as we were checking out asked if they could hold him, it was really cute and they were really impressed to learn he had just gotten shots because he was so mellow!

     Spencer is getting so big and has been doing lots of smiling lately! And just this week he has started babbling and cooing at us which is my new favorite thing! In Boise he also started sleeping for 7+ hours at a time. That has been awesome! He is starting to outgrow most of his newborn clothes which is so fun to see, and he has lots of cute clothes he should start fitting into soon! He still loves the bath and loves to be held, in Boise we also found out he loves the bouncy seat my mom got so we took it apart and brought it back to Waynesboro with us!

     He is now 10 weeks old and alert for much of the day, he is not the greatest napper some days, but other days he can sleep for 4 hours in the afternoon! He is still not a fan of his own bed. We also think he may be already be teething, he's been a little grumpy and congested and just not his normal easy going self for a day or two, so I guess we'll know for sure in a few days!
     We sure love this baby!

Trip to Boise-part 2.

     Amazingly we picked a great week to be in Boise so we had good weather which made it even better. And we were lucky to miss the big east coast snow storm by one day. Once in Boise we had a lot of fun! Spencer met both his Oakes uncles, his Opa, and his aunt, uncle and Rice cousins. He even met his great-grandpa Oakes and great-grandma Schnupp. He met his grandma and grandpa Moeller and his favorite* Moeller uncle, he was a busy and popular guy! Nate and I also had lots of fun seeing all our family...thank goodness for skype!

meeting Aunt Katie for the first time...not impressed.

and grandma Lynne...

and cousin Lincoln...

and Uncle Brayden...

and Uncle Aaron...

and grandpa Bob...

and grandma and grandpa Moeller...

and Jeannie...

     Things we enjoyed in Boise:
- settling.
- watching Boise high basketball.
- playing with Spencer's cousins.

- talking with our families.

- going on walks.

- looking for the white dear.
- looking for, finding, and taking pictures of elk.

- eating maple donuts.
- eating fish tacos.
- eating snickers cake.
- eating.
- seeing lots of friends.
- Spence sleeping for 7-8 hour stretches.
- Spencer also really enjoyed staring at the fan, but Lindsey and Nate not so much.

     Things we didn't enjoy:
- forgetting half my breast pump and having to buy new pieces.
- Nate sleeping on the floor.
- having to suction Spencer's nose because he wasn't used to the dry air.

Trip to Boise-part 1.

     Early on after Spencer was born we decided we wanted to have him blessed in Idaho so that we could have family stand in the circle. Fortunately, Nate's parents were willing to make the drive from Tucson to Boise (again!) to be there which confirmed that this was what we wanted to do so we made a week long trip to Idaho!

January 14, 2014
     We flew out of Dulles airport in D.C. at 4pm. I was a little apprehensive to fly with such a young baby but everyone told me it was really easy when they are still very young. I'm sure we were such a sight to see getting to the check in counter. Between Nate and I's 4 hands we had; 3 rolling suitcases, a big duffel bag, a car seat, and Spencer's diaper bag, oh yea, and Nate had a backpack stuffed full about to burst...with a cooler bag hanging off the side. We were so relieved when we didn't have to lug most of that around the airport anymore!
     Going through security was interesting. I had a bottle of breastmilk with us that naturally had to be thoroughly inspected. 2 different people shook it up and examined it, then they put it in some sort of machine, I don't know what all happened. Eventually we got it back all shaken up. My mom thinks they should have just tasted it. ;)
     A funny thing happened on the little subway train to the concourse for our gate. Spencer was still sitting in his car seat with the cover over it so no one would see him but us. We sat down and a lady sat across from us. After a minute in a completely bored and monotone voice she says, "do you think your baby is gonna have red hair?" I smiled and told her I wouldn't be surprised but that so far he's just really blonde. She just stared not smiling or anything and then says "oh" like she was disappointed.
     Spencer did super great on the airplanes. Our first flight from D.C. to Denver was about 4 hours and I was very anxious because I just wasn't sure how he would do. But he nursed and slept almost the whole time and never was fussy for more than just a second. We were very impressed with how great a traveler he was.

on the plane.

    One thing that DID stink about that plane ride, is there is absolutely NO leg room! Why do airplanes not give you even 1 more inch? I thought my legs were squished and then there's my 6'5 husband with his knees jammed into the medal pieces of the seat in front of him. And then, why do people find it necessary to lean there seat backs the entire 2 inches, it can't possibly make it THAT much more comfortable. But of course, the person in front of Nate did which made him that much more uncomfortable, and unable to get in and out of his backpack. To say it was an uncomfortable 4 hours is an understatement.

layover.

     Our second flight from Denver to Boise was a little better. First, it was an older airplane so the seats were bigger AND farther spaced so Nate's knees weren't pinned to the seat in front of him! Then, it was a pretty empty flight so we all had basically a whole row to ourselves and that awesome because we could bring our car seat on, and then had room to spread our stuff out a little bit.

layover.

     We were a little delayed coming out of Denver so it was pretty late getting to Boise. I don't think we got to my parents house before midnight but then of course we all stayed up talking and admiring Spencer. His Oma and Opa loved having him there.

   

Nate-ism #13.

Eating peach yogurt.

Lindsey: That was really good peach ice cream, I mean yogurt. Why do I keep calling it ice cream?
Nate: Because it's so good it tastes like fro-yo. Only it's not frozen so it just tastes like......yo.....




And just because, here's a picture of our boy in a baby tuxedo.

Spencer smiles and Nate gets a Christmas bonus (ha!)

(still working on getting a picture, sorry to disappoint.)

     This morning was the first time Spencer smiled (besides in his sleep)! It was the cutest thing and I have been trying to get him to do it again all day, but no luck!
I was sitting in bed and ad him leaning back against my bent legs, I blew in his eyes a few times (meanest mom) and he closed them and opened his mouth wide and gave a big ol' smile! We repeated this 2 or 3 times before he was done with that game.
   
     In other news Nate got a Christmas bonus of a $1 Pennsylvania lottery scratch ticket. He won a whoppin' $4.00.

what a joke.

Christmas Eve & Christmas day.

     This year Nate had to work on Christmas day so we decided to have our big dinner on Christmas eve. Nate has become quite the chef (always has been) since Spencer was born. I get halfway through making or doing something when the baby starts crying and Nate has to take over. Christmas was no different. I got halfway through making 2 pumpkin pies (thanks for the crusts mom!) and Nate had to finish. I think he even had to make the whole peanut butter chocolate himself, he just had to keep coming to ask me if it looked right. He made ham, mashed potatoes (I peeled and cut them is all) and green bean casserole. And I got to help make 'pink stuff'. And just to brag about him a little more, on Monday he made 3 batches of cookies for us to gift to people; chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, and hershey;s kiss cookies. What a stud! And it was all amazing!
     We went for a walk afterward and even though we were bundled up it was freezing so we didn't last long! We came home and just relaxed and watched parts of a couple Christmas movies on tv. Then we opened a couple presents because I wanted Nate to wear his to bed! He wore his Santa jammies for a few hours but then decided they were too hot to wear to bed.
     Christmas day was very low key for us this year which we didn't mind at all. We opened a few presents, ate our leftovers and then Nate went to work. We were spoiled by both our families and are so thankful to all of them for even thinking of us, we missed all of them but enjoyed a nice little Christmas with our little family.

Excuse how gross we are in the following pictures:

sleepy Spence.

the chef and his meal, minus 3 pies.

wishing his parents a merry christmas :)

SANTA!

just wanted to show off our cute baby.

     We are so grateful to have such generous families! Thank you to all of you, we love you!

One Month Old!

December 16, 2013

the bink lasted about 2 seconds.

     I know parents always say this...but I can't believe my baby is already a month old!! Time has gone by so fast and he is already so much bigger!
At his 1 month doc. appointment he was:
9.11 lbs.
43%
22 inches.
69%
15 in. head.
74%

if you've ever seen Nate yawn, it looks just like this.

     He did jump up a whole growth curve (according to a chart the doc. had) in both height and weight. We were all very pleased with his weight as he gained 2 whole pounds in 3 weeks! It was about time he started growing!

like father, like son!

     At 1 month Spencey has terrible baby acne!! Here's hoping it clears up soon! He still hates to have his diaper changed and cries and screams the whole time. He also doesn't really like to fart or poop. He doesn't like to be naked or be on his belly. And up until 2 nights ago, he REALLY didn't like sleeping in his own bed. He is still not a big fan of the bink and makes really awful gagging noises and faces if we try to give it to him.

     Now for the stuff he DOES like! He LOVES the water! Showers and baths are his favorite, even listening to running water can usually calm him down. He loves to nurse, even if he's not hungry (his mom is really not a fan of this habit). His favorite trick is waiting until his diaper is off to pee! He likes to just be held and we love that!!

     Another trick he's really great at is casting spells! But seriously, it is the funniest thing...when Spencer is asleep and we go check on him he gets spooked or something and shoots his arms up in the air really fast! Nate kept calling him a wizard and I didn't understand why until he said it when we were both checking on him sleeping. It was hilarious and he really does look like he's a wizard casting spells on us! I keep trying to get a video, but he must be on to me because he will never do it when the cameras out! ;)

     Finally, after a whole month we have gotten into a bedtime routine that has him sleeping more in his own bed and only waking up twice a night! We start getting ready for bed at 8 which includes a little bath, some lotion (this lasts about 10 seconds because he doesn't like to be naked and starts screaming), swaddling, lights off, calming music, and nursing! This puts him to sleep anytime between 8:30-9:30. If I let him sleep on me for about 5 minutes after he's done eating I can put him in his bed and he will sleep till midnight when he wakes up. At midnight we do a diaper change, reswaddle, turn the music back on, and he nurses for 30-45 min. when I can then put him back in his bed. He will then sleep till 4-4:30 when we repeat the same procedure and he will go back to sleep until anywhere between 8-10am! He is definitely his father's son with his sleeping habits!

     We love having him here with us!! I sometimes miss being pregnant and I definitely worry about him more, but we have really enjoyed him and can't wait to watch him grow!

the best we could get...

I couldn't resist...I love this cute bum!